The Rosetta Suite - 1. "Liftoff" by Edward Blakeley Music

The project has finished on Kickstarter but is now available to hear and buy:

https://edwardblakeley.bandcamp.com/album/the-rosetta-suite
http://www.edwardblakeley.com/?pg=music

The Rosetta Suite is an suite of orchestral music inspired by ESA's Rosetta comet mission.

Special thanks Cubicle Ninjas for providing the artwork and 3D printed model design for the project, and to Ferdy Hanssen for sponsoring the project with a generous pledge.

The Rosetta Suite was born in November 2014 when, after a ten and a half year journey, over a cumulative distance of over 6.4 billion kilometers, Philae - the ‘plucky’ mascot and lander of ESA’s Rosetta mission - sent word that it had successfully landed on the romantically-named comet ‘67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko’.

After seeing the now-famous footage of Professor Monica Grady hugging BBC Science editor David Shukman, I was overwhelmed with emotional inspiration and, having never embarked on a solo album before, decided to turn my then-simple sketches into a full length orchestral suite.

Little did I know then how big a journey would result from that decision.

The Rosetta Suite is an operatic space-themed score of forty minutes in length, written for full orchestra, with each of the six movements describing a chapter of Rosetta and Philae’s journey through the solar system.

The Rosetta Suite is dedicated to John Marriott Smith (1931-2015), my mother’s stepfather; for his endless generosity, encouragement, and faith in all my musical pursuits.

Many, many people are to thank for bringing The Rosetta Suite album to life - all of whom I have listed on the back of the album. I thank them again immensely for their faith and trust in me, and for supporting this original classical music work.

Extra special thanks go to: my mother, Gail, for her energy and support - particularly during the album’s Kickstarter campaign; my father, Garry, for performing all of the violin and viola parts with true virtuosity, and for supporting the album; Rob Leake and Martin Bradshaw for kindly providing their combined decades of experience and musicianship with stunning results; Dick Beetham at 360 Mastering for lending his expert ears and attentive mind, ensuring the album reached its true sonic potential; Mark McCaughrean at ESA, who believed in the project from the start and has always lent a hand when needed; Josh Farkas and his genius Cubicle Ninjas, for sponsoring the project by providing the excellent cover artwork you see on the front cover of the album; Stephen Muir and Gareth Dant, my friends at the University of Leeds who promoted the album’s Kickstarter campaign and have provided excellent moral support; and to my loving girlfriend Sammie, who has patiently and eagerly comforted me during the emotional twists and turns I experienced throughout the writing of The Rosetta Suite.

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